Means for attaching a bezel



May 14, 1957 N. E. DAsHER ET AL 2,792,245

MEANS FOR ATTACHING A BEZEL 2 sneaks-sheer 1 Filed Nov. 29, 195 6 y May 14, 1957 N. E. DAsHER ET Ax. 2,792,245

MEANS FOR ATTACHING A BEZEL Filed Nov. 29,V 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR: /VOEMA/ 5. o45/,23

.come by V.the present `invention.

the Florencepatent must at allv times extend vfrom theI United MEANS FOR ATTACHING A BEZEL Norman E. Dasher, Burbank, and Jerome H. Feig, North Hollywood, Calif., assignors to Marvin ldiectric Manu factoring Company, Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California v Application November 29, 1956, Serial No. 625,079

' 8 Claims. (Cl. 292-46) Our .inventioncomprises means for attaching a bezel to ahousing Yand more specifically `to a means'or releasably :holdingthe'bezel on the vhousing of a light fixture s that the'bezel can be pulled away from theiace of the housing :torchange light bulbs in the housing or to permit .other operations within the housing.

While it is known to use torsion Asprings for this purpose, such-as that shown in the Florence Patent 2,761,299, suchtorsion springs have several defects `which are over- The torsion springs of bezel perpendicular 'to the'planewof the bezel. Thus in shipping rs'uch a device, a deep and `rather cumbersome Vpackage must be used to protect the torsion springs as they extend either directly outward from thebezel or ,fromthe housing. Asit-is customary 4to ship `the bezels f ,andhousing .separately and often replacement bezels are shipped the torsion springs must be `either unscrewed or `compeltely detached, .and a very cumbersome packaging t; arent 'from the brackets .so `as Vto separate `the Vbezel entirely vfrom thehousing. When this .is done, the spring clips are fable .to :rotate in their attaching Vslots on thevrbezel so that they lie parallel tothe `plane of -thehousing making them packageable in a small, flat container no larger than thebezel-.itsel `Another disadvantage that the torsion spring type of holding clip has is-that Vthe legs-of the torsion spring, .when fthe 'bezel is closed, stickoutllaterally from lslots in -the housing and prevent a tight sealing of the bezel against the housing. This deficiency in torsion spring fasteners is overcome by our spring clip means as the spring clip never extends outwardly further than the edges of the slots in the bracket.

Other objects and advantages of our invention will be apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment thereof.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation partially sectioned and showing in phantom the bezel open;

Figure 2 is a section taken on the line 2 2 of Figure l;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section of a detail;

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section of a modified form of a detail; and

Figure 5 is a partial perspective;

Figure 6 is a partial section showing the spring clip in folded position;

Figure 7 is a perspective of a modification; and

Figure 8 is a perspective of a modification.

A light fixture incorporating therein our invention can be of any type such as the recessed lighting lixture shown in the drawings. 0f course, the iixture can be of any 2,792,245 YPatented May i4, i957 shape and we Vhave shown the fixture as substantially rectangular merely for the purposes of illustrating the invention.

lSuch va fixture comprises a housing l in which is mounted the usual light bulb socket which has been deleted from the drawings forthe purposes of clarity as it does not enter into any part of this invention. The housing .i can be in the form of a box having four sides and a top with its bottom open. The open bottom is closed by a bezel 2 of any shape or size which may be decorative 0r not, as desired. The bezel 2, of course, will carry a light diffusing lens. o maintain the bezel 2 in contact with the bottom edges of the sides of the housing l, we provide a spring clip 3 which is U-shaped and formed from spring steel wire having legs 1l and S bowed outwardly from each other. The legs t and 5 are joined together at one end as indicated at o. rhe legs 4 and 5 have their ends bent over to form hangers 7. The hangers 7 are rotativeiy positioned under the tabs S formed on a bracket 9 attached to the inner su ace of the bezel A further proiectio-n ih on the h' gers 7 prevents the hangers 7 from being withdrawn from under the tabs 8.

Upon the inner surface of the box i is provided a bracket l1 having therethrough a slot l2. The spring clip 3 is passed through the slot i2. A proiection 13 on Athe bracketl extends across the slot i2 and is adapted `to engage the end o of the spring clipY 3 to prevent the spring clip 3 from being pulled out of the slot 12. Ordinarily, we prefer to have the projection i3 extend only partlyacross slot i2 as shown in Figure' 3, so that the spring rmay be lifted over the -end of thefprojection 13 so that it can be completely removed from the slot12.

However, sometimes it is desirable that the bezel be per- ,manently attached to the housing i and in that case, the

Yattachingtovthe bezel -a-nd housing :can be used. Ordinarily, on a rectangular `or round housing 1,-one-Spri'ug fclp is usedat opposite-sides of theibox l.

VKIn the'operation of ourflroldingmeans, thelegs 4 and .51.of theispring `clip 3 exert `pressure on they ends of the .slot 12 `and .are compressed together'by that slot.v This pressure, Whenv-thebezelis in the closed position, '.maintains thebezel tightly against the bottom Aedges :oz-.the box 1. `Aimerefpull.onthebezel 2g-pulls the legs a4and .through the slot 12 until :the .end o-,is engaged `iby fthe projection lll. The spring pressure of the legs 4 and 5 against the edges of the slot 12 maintains the bezel in any desired position. It should be noted that when the projection 13 does not close the slot l2, one of the spring clips 3 can be removed from the slot l2 so that the bezel hangs at right angles to its ordinary plane, permitting the complete opening of the housing l. for the purpose of changing bulbs and the like.

In shipping bezels having our holding means attached, the spring clip 3 is detached from the housing and then can be turned under the tabs 8 so that the two spring clips rotate inwardly and lie flat against the lens in the bezel.

Figure 7 illustrates the use of our invention in a surface mounted iixture rather than in a recessed fixture illustrated in Figure l. In this type invention, a socket holding plate 20 is attached to the ceiling or other support and has a housing 2i which fits on against the shoulder edges 22 and carries a light bezel 23. The housing 21 is attached to the plate by spring clips 24 similar to spring clips 3 of Figure l in the opposite manner to the recessed lighting fixture. In other words, they are permanently attached to the plate 20 and slide in and out 3 of a slotted bracket 25 on the housing 21 which is similar to the bracket 11.

Similarly in Figure 8 is shown a triangular fixture here illustrated as a surface mounted xture but which could be reversed and formed into a recessed xture. This form of the invention shows one of the advantages of our spring clip in that clip 35 is attached to a slotted bracket 36 attached to a bezel carrying housing 37. Spring clips of the torsion type could not be used in the corners of the housing 37 because when the housing 37 and plate 38 are closed, the legs of the torsion spring would have no space to extend outwardly and would strike the sides of the housing preventing any real pressure against the slots 38 to maintain the fixture in a closed position.

We claim:

l. In a light xture, a housing, a bezel for closing one side of said housing, a bracket carried by said bezel, a U-shaped spring clip having projections on its open end, means carried by said bracket to attach said projections to said bracket, a slotted bracket attached to said housing through which said spring clip extends and means to prevent said spring clip from being pulled from said slot.

2. In a light ixture, a housing, a bezel for closing one side of said housing, a bracket carried by said bezel, a U-shaped spring clip having projections on its open end, means carried by said bracket to attach said projections to said bracket, a slotted bracket attached to said housing through which said spring clip extends and means to prevent said spring clip from being pulled from said slot; said last mentioned means comprising a support for the closed end of said spring clip when said spring clip is pulled out of said slotted bracket until said closed end engages said last mentioned means.

3. In a light fixture, a housing, a bezel for closing one side of said housing, a bracket carried by said bezel, a U-shaped spring clip having projections on its open end, means carried by said bracket to attach said projections to said bracket, a slotted bracket attached to said housing through which said spring clip extends; said slot being smaller in size than the width of said spring clip whereby the legs of said spring clip exert pressure on the ends of said slot; and means to prevent said spring clip from being pulled from said slot. v

4. In a light fixture, a housing, a bezel for closing one side of said housing, a bracket carried by saidbezel, a U-shaped spring clip having projections on its open end, means carried by said bracket to attach said projections to said bracket, a slotted bracket attached to said housing through which said spring clip extends; said slot being smaller in size than the width of said spring clip whereby the legs of said spring clip exert pressure on the ends of said slot; and means to prevent said spring clip from being pulled from said slot; said last mentioned means comprising a support for the closed end of said spring clip when said spring clip is pulled out of said slotted bracket until said closed end engages said last mentioned means.

5. In a light fixture, a housing, a bezel for closing one side of said housing, a bracket carried by said bezel, a U-shaped spring clip having projections on its open end and its legs outwardly bowed, means carried by said bracket to attach said projections to said bracket, a slotted bracket attached to said housing through which said spring clip extends and means to prevent said spring clip from being pulled from said slot.

6. In a light fixture, a housing, a bezel for closing one side of said housing, a bracket carried by said bezel, a U-shaped spring clip having projections on its open end and its legs outwardly bowed, means carried by said bracket to attach said projections to said bracket, a slotted bracket attached to said housing through which said spring clip extends and means to prevent said spring clip from being pulled from said slot; said last mentioned means comprising a support for the closed end of said spring clip when said spring clip is pulled out of said slotted bracket until said closed end engages said last mentioned means.

7. In a light fixture, a housing, a bezel for closing one side of said housing, a bracket carried by said bezel, a U-shaped spring clip having projections on its open end and its legs outwardly bowed, means carried by said bracket to attach said projections to said bracket, a slotted bracket attached to said housing through which said spring clip extends; said slot being smaller in size than the width of said spring clip whereby the legs of said spring clip exert pressure on the ends of said slot; and means to prevent said spring clip from being pulled from said slot.

8. In a light fixture, a housing, a bezel for closing ono side of said housnig, a bracket carried by said bezel, a U-shaped spring clip having projections on its open end and its legs outwardly bowed, means canied by said bracket to attach said projections to said bracket, a slotted bracket attached to said housing through which said spring clip extends; said slot being smaller in size than the width of said spring clip whereby the legs of saidspring clip exert pressure on the ends of said slot; and means to prevent said spring clip from being pulled from said slot; said last mentioned means comprising a support for the closed end of said spring clip when said spring clip is pulled out of said slotted bracket until said closed end engages said last mentioned means.

References cited in the me ef this patent Publication, Lighting and Lamps, September 1947, page 17, 240-78H. (Copy in Div. 62, U. S. Patent Oice.) 

